Mark Haslett comes to KETR having served at High Plains Public Radio in Amarillo, where he worked as News Director and later as Director of Programming. His work has been broadcast on National Public Radio, KERA, KCUR and other public radio stations. Haslett enjoys the privilege and responsibility of keeping communities well-informed. He has also worked as an editor and reporter at newspapers in the Southwest and Midwest. Haslett developed a passion for radio as a youth, when he helped his father, a program host at WRBC-AM in Jackson, Miss. He enjoys travel and has worked abroad in Mexico and the Dominican Republic. Haslett is a graduate of Arlington High School and earned a B.A. in English from Tufts University in Medford, Mass.

Ways to Connect

In Texas, the school districts most in need of teachers with specialized training are also the districts that can have a hard time finding those teachers. Here in Northeast Texas, a multi-agency partnership involving Texas A&M University-Commerce has been working to help solve that problem.

The Texas Senate Committee on Criminal Justice will hold a hearing at 1:30 p.m. March 30 to hear testimony regarding conditions for people in official custody who need mental health services while detained or incarcerated. Katharine Ligon with the Center for Public Policy Priorities in Austin is among the many who will be watching the conversation resulting from tomorrow's event.

The NCAA has announced disciplinary measures for West Texas A&M University's football program and three former WT coaches, including current Texas A&M University-Commerce football head coach Colby Carthel, current Texas A&M University-Commerce volunteer football coach Don Carthel and former West Texas A&M University wide receivers coach and special teams coordinator Joel Hinton.

Identity can be a tricky sea to navigate, particularly when dealing with matters of ethnicity and culture. Dr. Frederick Luis Aldama discusses how, in order to continue toward the long-term goal of a "post-racial" society, we need to build some understanding of identity first.

Frederick Luis Aldama, who recently spoke on the campus of Texas A&M University-Commerce, says that Latino culture and mainstream culture in the United States are converging in new and important ways. Aldama also points out that Latino culture in the U.S. is itself increasingly diverse.

Thomas Ratliff, who has represented Northeast Texas on the Texas State Board of Education since 2011, chose not to run for re-election in this year's Republican Party primary election. The top two finishers in that contest - Mary Lou Bruner and Keven M. Ellis - will face one another in a May 24 runoff election, as neither candidate won a majority of the March 1 vote. Ratliff is candid in his concerns about Bruner, who he sees as someone who would be a "distraction" on the 15-member body that manages the state's Permanent School Funs and sets textbook standards for the state's public schools.

Vamsi Kalakuntla hosts "Friday Night with DJ VK," which features dance music from India and around the world. Kalakuntla says that he enjoys hosting a program that helps people begin their weekend on a fun note.

Interstate 30 between Rockwall and Greenville will be in a state of transition more or less indefinitely, although not continuously. The highway is being widened to improve carrying capacity and safety.

U.S. Rep. John Ratcliffe should be returning to Washington, D.C., to continue his representation of the 4th Congressional District in the seat formerly held by elder statesman Ralph Hall. Ratcliffe rolled past challenger Lou Gigliotti by an almost three-to-one margin. With 95.1 percent of precincts reporting, Ratcliffe had 66.2 percent of the votes (71,263), while Gigliotti trailed with 23.3 percent (25,096). Another Republican challenger, Ray Hall, finished with 10.5 percent (11,342).

On a night when some Texas Republicans felt the wrath of the party’s right wing, State Rep. Dan Flynn kept his office – but just barely. By the time late numbers from Van Zandt County finally rolled in, to the joy of bleary-eyed politicos from Sulphur Bluff to Edom, Flynn had defeated challenger Bryan Slaton by a paltry 369 votes.